Talk to Cars?

I’ve just had published another short story, The Young Man Who Talked to Cars. It is a bit different but I think you’ll like it.

When you read this story you’ll get to meet some interesting cars. The Sugatti with an attitude. Audrey the protective family car, Andre the voyeur van. And, of course, there is Melany, a sweet coddled Cadillac. Or is she really that sweet?) There are also interesting people you’ll meet, some nice, some more on the sleaze-bag side of life. Enjoy.

This story was published in the July 2021 issue of Fabula Argentea on-line Magazine. To read it, click here: Young Man (7500 word story) You can also link to it on my site under Published Stories.

Looking Ahead: My writing is taking a more serious tone as I think I’m moving forward towards the art of writing. I have a novel set in France during WWII nearly finished and an interesting short story set at the end of the Civil War, but as my writing gets better, I’ve discovered that it takes much more hard work to polish it up to my new standards.

Are Two Wolves Better than One?

New Stan Dryer Stories On-line

I’ve updated www.standryer.org to include two more short stories that were recently published and that you might find interesting.

The first of these is Two Brothers, Two Wolves. If you run into a wolf in the forest, would you be better off facing two wolves rather than just one?  Sometimes two is better. I wrote this piece as I was interested in trying to write a story with an imbedded narrator, what is called a frame story. It was published in the April issue of Fabula Argentea on-line magazine. To read it, click here: Wolves  Feel free to leave a comment, positive or negative at the end.

The second short story is Tracking Blackheart Bart. It is a science fiction western on the short side. After escaping from jail, Blackheart Bart seeks asylum with some aliens with interesting results. This story was published in a Rogue Blades anthology Reach for the Sky, The anthology is available on Kindle or as a printed copy on Amazon. To read this story, click here: Blackheart

In addition, my story The Young Man Who Talked to Cars will be published in the July issue of Fabula Argentea magazine. I’ll let you know when it is available to read.

My other writing continues. I have several new stories out looking for publishers and a bunch more in the mill. My short novel (or long novella?) Petite Fleur is complete in the sense that it can be read from start to finish, but it still needs more polishing. I have a couple of people reading it for comments right now. Set in France towards the end of WWII, it is more serious than most of my other writing.

So you can see I am keeping busy and, better still, having a blast.

Enjoy,

Stan Dryer

What’s New on Stan Dryer’s Blog

I’ve made some interesting additions and changes on my blog. My short story Tracking Blackheart Bart has finally been published in an anthology Reach for the Sky published by Rogue Blades Entertainment.  Like the other stories in the anthology, it is a science fiction western set in the late 1800’s. I don’t have a copy of the story up on the blog yet (it will be there in January). If you have a Kindle, I can send you a Kindle file of the book containing the story.

I just did a podcast with John Hoda who is a Private Investigator and writer of thrillers. His podcasts are interviews with other PI’s and writers of detective and thriller novels. If you want to listen to the podcast it is number 114 and you can find it at: https://www.johnhoda.com/podcast-my-favorite-detective-stories/ If you are a detective story reader or writer, you may find other of his podcasts fascinating listening.

If you look on Published Stories on my blog, you’ll find nine stories described. Seven of these can be found by a simple click or two. I’ve just added Finishing Off Gammie, a story that was published by Mystery Weekly over a year ago. The two stories not on-line are Tracking Blackheart Bart (see No. 1 above) and Never Kidnap a Crime Novelist.

I’ve added the third and final section to the Compatibility story under the Writing a Story section. These three sections walk you through a short story with a built-in discussion that looks at how such a story might be constructed and, at the end, asks you to think about how the story might be ended or extended. If you’ve read the 1st and 2nd sections, the 3rd section is now on the blog.

Enjoy, Stan Dryer

New Stan Dryer Stories

I have just had 3 more stories published.

“Playing Out the Deck” has to do with pushup poker, the Appalachian Trail, the war in Afghanistan and how friends help each other when things get tough.

“Trouble-Free Driving” describes a hit man’s encounter with an over-friendly state trooper.

“Never Kidnap a Crime Novelist” describes how a crime novelist is kidnapped by a young couple greedy for a cut of the advance on his next book. By the end of the story, the couple discovers just how bad a mistake they have made.

The first two of these stories you can access on-line by going to “Published Stories” on http://www.standryer.com. The kidnapping story is available in print or electronic publishing as described again under “Published Stories”.

I’ve fixed my blog site so that most of my stories can be accessed with single click.

Let me know what you think. Comments are always welcome.

Stan Dryer

Getting Stories Published

I’ve added two new items to my blog that may be of interest to you.

First, a number of the writers in my writing groups were interested in knowing how to get the short stories they had written published. I wrote a description of what I knew of the world that publishes short stories and the things that a writer should think about when offering stories for publication. When I read this description to one writing group some members felt they would like to see it available for reference. So it is there and you can see it by clicking on GETTING STORIES PUBLISHED. I’ve also added a table of contents to make it a bit easier to find material of interest. Feel free to copy it or suggest it to friends. Also, any feedback would be much appreciated.

Second, I resurrected a story that I wrote that was published 35 years ago in the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Titled “A Day in the Life of a Classics Professor”, it describes a world in which androids have replaced athletes in all major sports. The major sport is now competitive classic Roman oratory. You’ll find the story under STORY ARCHIVES.

Here’s an exerpt:

Big Harley Wilson drove Parker’s limousine with a terrifying abandon, cutting in and out through the traffic of autocars at a speed that would have meant disaster for anyone with a shade less skill. Wilson had been a running back with the now defunct Green Bay Packers and he was very used to hurling himself through holes that opened up for only a fraction of a second.

As Wilson drove, he cursed. “No mech scab gonna cut me off.” “Eat monoxide, droid bastards.” “Furbin micro-brains.” And, Parker thought, he had every reason to curse the mechanisms that piloted the other vehicles. They, or their brother androids, had destroyed Wilson’s most promising career

Enjoy, Stan Dryer

Conquering the Washington Monument

This is a note to let you know what’s new on standryer.com. 

First, I’ve added another section to the story “Compatibility” under WRITING A STORY. This is a short story I’m writing with commentary on the writing process along the way. Feel free to comment (bottom of this post) and I’ll post appropriate comments with the story.

Second, I’m starting to put some of the stories I published forty years ago up on the blog. The first of these is there, “The Conquest of the Washington Monument” written by an avid monument climber. You’ll find it under STORY ARCHIVES. Here is its first paragraph.

Among technical monument climbers the ascent of the Washington Monument has always been recognized as the penultimate challenge in sheer purity of execution. The monument offers a straight 555 foot Class 7 climb on a hard marble face with artificial aids for direct assistance required all the way. As it has never been scaled, I have long cherished the thought of attacking the monument. I had studied the records of the ill-fated Harkins expedition (See Washington police blotter May 7th 1971) who were forced to turn back at the 42 foot mark on The North Face. Their failure, I felt, was due to their negligence in not disabling the flood lights at the base of the monument to prevent police detection. We would not make that mistake, but other difficulties that I could not anticipate would confront us.

Read the rest under STORY ARCHIVES on www.standryer.com

And finally, I’ve had another couple of stories accepted for publication. “Playing Out the Deck” has to do with pushup poker, the Appalachian Trail, the war in Afghanistan and how friends help each other when things get tough. The second “Trouble-Free Driving” describes a hit man’s encounter with an over-friendly state trooper. Both of these will be published in September and I’ll let you know when and where when they are available to read.

The Edge of Solitude

Another of my short storie, The Edge of Solitude has just been electronically published on the Write Launch site. http://www.thewritelaunch.com To read it, go to their site, click on “SHORT STORY” at the top, and scroll down to the story.

I wrote most of this story over 40 years ago. It is based on my experience when, in the summer after my freshman year at Harvard, I worked at a boy’s camp on Lake Timagami in Canada. The camp doctor was a young intern who later went on to work most of his life as a medical missionary in North Africa.

It is nice to see published your recollections of a peaceful moment in your early life. I hope I have at least partially portrayed the essence of a few short summer weeks in an almost untouched wilderness.

Your comments and feedback (bottom of this post) are always welcomed.

Stan Dryer